


Til The Ends Of Earth

by We_Are_Grounders



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-23
Updated: 2015-05-16
Packaged: 2018-03-14 16:36:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 13,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3417860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/We_Are_Grounders/pseuds/We_Are_Grounders
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At age 18 every girl on the Ark is assigned to a suitable husband. Clarke turns 18 and gets assigned to Bellamy Blake.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Today was Clarke Griffin’s 18th birthday. That meant she would be paired with a suitable husband. The youngest men she could be paired with were 23 and the oldest could reach into the 50s. Clarke was nervous and angry that she was being forced to marry someone she didn’t know or want.   
“Clarke, It’s time,” her mother, Abby, said.  
“I’m ready,” Clarke said pulling at the hem of her white shirt.   
“Oh honey, it’s going to be okay,” Abby said and smiled at her. Clarke’s parents had gotten lucky when they were matched together. They had fallen in love with each other almost immediately, but Clarke had a feeling she wouldn’t be so lucky. Clarke gave her mother a small smile before leaving the flat and heading toward the marriage room. The marriage room was reasonably sized as it had to hold all the 18 year olds and suitors. Clarke slipped her personality test into the machine at the door before proceeding to take a seat with the other girls. She knew all of them of course, but she had never really been friends with any of them. They had called her weird and a freak because she was interested in medicine instead of what new fabrics they could find at the exchange.  
After everyone had arrived it only took a minute before the personality tests were scanned and matched by the machine. When they were done the Chancellor would read out the matches. When the match was read the man could either accept or reject the girl. If he rejected a new match would be made for the girl. Clarke watched as each girl was matched with a man. By the time they got her name there was only one man left that could possibly be around her age. She recognized him, but didn’t actually know him.   
“Clarke Griffin and….. Bellamy Blake,” Chancellor Jaha announced. Clarke sighed with relief as the young man she had recognized rose to his feet and met her in front of the podium. Bellamy presented her with the customary simple gold band to put on her finger, then they signed some papers and they were officially married. Jaha made a brief speech and the next name was called.   
Each new couple was presented with a flat to start their new lives. Bellamy and Clarke’s was much smaller than she was used to, but much bigger than he had ever lived in. Clarke didn’t mind though. She liked the coziness of her new flat and smiled. Bellamy stared at Clarke as she toured their new flat. When she was done she stopped in front of him, looking up at him expectantly. He raised his eyebrow at her.  
“Uh…” he stuttered.  
“I’m Clarke Griffin…. Er Blake now I guess. I’m an intern at the medical facility. You’re Bellamy Blake. You’re a janitor,” She said, but not in a condescending way, “Well now the introductions are out of the way. I have to go get some things from my mom’s flat if you’d like to come with me.” She exited the flat and left the door open for him to follow, which of course he did. Bellamy’s mouth hung open when he walked into Clarke’s mom’s flat. It was absolutely huge, the main living area was probably equivalent to their whole flat.   
“Clarke?” Abby called from somewhere down a hall.   
“Yeah mom, it’s me,” Clarke said.  
“Who’d you get paired with? Is he handsome? What’s his job? What’s he like?” Abby asked coming down the hall, but her questions stopped when she entered the room and her eyes landed on Bellamy. Bellamy crossed the room in a few long strides to stop in front of her and extended his hand.  
“I’m Bellamy Blake,” He said. Abby took his hand and shook it.  
“My, you did get lucky, Clarke,” Abby said “have a seat.”  
“I’m going to go get my stuff,” Clarke said as Bellamy took a seat on the plush couch.  
“Do you need help?” He offered Clarke.  
“Umm, yeah probably,” Clarke said thinking it best not to leave Bellamy with her mom for too long. Bellamy rose from the couch and followed Clarke into an equally large bedroom. The room was simple, but looked comfortable. The pictures on the walls were what really drew his attention. They were hand drawn pictures and every one of them was of Earth. Unlike everything in the room, they were not simple. They were intricate and detailed and everything he had ever imagined Earth to be like.  
“Did you do these?” He asked pointing to one of a tree. Clarke looked up and nodded.   
“They’re beautiful,” He responded.  
“Thank you,” She said with a light blush showing on her face. He moved on from the drawings onto some photographs sitting on a wooden dresser. Only the most important people could afford to have photographs taken. Clarke had three. One photo was of her mother and a man who he assumed was her father. The other two photographs were of the three of them together. Clarke came over to stand next Bellamy. She smiled fondly at the photographs.   
“Where is he?” Bellamy asked, although he already suspected he knew.  
“He was floated about a year ago,” Clarke replied with a hint of sadness.  
“Why?” Bellamy asked.  
“Treason. What about your family?” Clarke asked trying to change the subject.  
“I never met my father. He was out of the picture before I was born and my mother never spoke of him. My mother was also floated about a year ago,” Bellamy said.  
“Why?” Clarke asked as she picked up one of the photographs and put it in her bag.  
“She broke the population law. She had a daughter. I’m not sure who the father is, but I suspect it’s one of the higher members of the guard,” Bellamy said through gritted teeth.  
“You have a sister?” Clarke asked. She was fascinated, no one on the Ark had a sibling. It was only something Clarke had read about in books.  
“Her name is Octavia,” Bellamy said with a smile, finally something he was happy to talk about. Clarke finished packing her small bag of clothes and started to pick it up off the floor, but before she could Bellamy picked it up and slung it over his shoulder.  
“Lead the way, Princess,” He said and gestured toward the door. She glared at him then turned to lead the way out of her mom’s flat. Abby must have been called to the medical bay because the flat was now empty. Clarke didn’t seemed surprised and just shut the door behind him. Clarke swiped her ID card at the entrance of their much smaller flat and Bellamy felt a stab of guilt as he would never be good enough to give her what she had grown up with. He set her bag down on the bed.  
“Do you want to go get your stuff?” Clarke asked.  
“Uh… no… it’s okay. I can get it later… or tomorrow when I get off from work,” Bellamy said.  
“Don’t be ridiculous we’ll just get it now,” and she was out the door before he could argue with her.  
“Clarke,” He said catching up with her.  
“Yes?” She replied. She had never been to the section of the Ark where Bellamy had grown up and she was very excited to see it.  
“Really I can get my stuff later,” Bellamy repeated.  
“We’re already half way there. We’ll just grab your stuff and come back. It’ll take no time at all,” Clarke said. They had reached the door that led to the steps that descended into the area of the Ark where the less privileged lived, and that was putting it nicely.   
“Okay, but I’m leading,” Bellamy said opening the door and starting his way down the steps. The stairs ended and opened into a hallway where the living quarters were. The lights flickered above them and sketchy looking people milled about. Clarke slipped her hand into Bellamy’s suddenly thinking he was right and should have let him go on his own. It was quite a long walk to Bellamy’s old flat and every person they passed stared at Clarke as they passed.  
“What’s a pretty girl like you doing with a rat like him?” one man called after them and cackled. Clarke squeezed his hand tightly and he pulled her down the hallway quickly.   
“Bellamy,” She whispered feeling slightly frightened.  
“Hey girly. Will you slum around with me too?” an older man asked and pulled on Clarke’s arm. Clarke’s hand slipped out of Bellamy’s and she let out a little yelp as the man began to roam his hands over her body. She punched him in the gut, but that did little to help her.  
“Hey, let go of my wife!” Bellamy bellowed, surprising both her and the man. Bellamy yanked Clarke from his grasp before punching the guy hard in the eye.   
“Bellamy!” Clarke yelped. The man fell backwards onto the ground and didn’t make any attempts to get up. Bellamy turned his back to him, grabbed Clarke’s hand and pulled her down the hall and finally into his flat. He pushed her gently into the room and closed the door behind him quickly. He let out a sigh of relief.  
“Are you okay?” He asked Clarke. Clarke nodded.  
“Thank you,” She whispered.  
“Anytime, Princess,” He said back gently. He led her into his small bedroom, barely big enough to fit a bed. His clothes were stacked in neat piles on the floor beside the bed, he had no closet or dresser. He didn’t have a lot clothes, just a few pairs of pants, shirts, and his work uniform. Clarke felt bad for Bellamy. She hadn’t realized it was this bad down here. She wondered how many times he had gotten into fight with other residents. He exited the bedroom and lifted up a floor board. Underneath it contained two pairs of what looked like girl’s shirts and pants, a small stuffed bear, and a red ribbon.   
“Where did you get this?” Clarke asked picking up the stuffed bear.  
“I didn’t steal it,” Bellamy said.  
“Oh, no! Bellamy, that’s not at all what I meant. I just meant I had always wanted one, but they were cost so many ration points,” Clarke said and stroked the soft bear tenderly.  
“I found it on one of my trash routes. There are so many rooms in Mecha and Hyrda station that no one ever goes into. I found the bear in Mecha station,” Bellamy explained. She handed the bear to Bellamy and he put it in his bag. He zipped up the bag and led Clarke to the door. He looked back at the flat he had grown up in one last time. Tomorrow there would be a new occupant. He sighed and shut the door behind him.  
He had only known her for about two hours, but he already felt an overwhelming need to protect her. He pulled her close to him as they walked through the halls, but this time no one made a move for either of them. They reached the stairs leading back up to Alpha station and he could breathe a little easier. They emerged onto the Alpha deck and he sighed with relief.   
“We should drop off your stuff and then head to lunch hour or we’ll miss it,” Clarke said. Bellamy nodded and they walked to their flat in silence. He dropped is bag just inside the door and then they headed to the cafeteria.  
Bellamy was a janitor and only received enough ration points to eat one meal a day, Clarke was a medical intern and earned enough points for three meals a day. He hesitated before scanning his finger and receiving his meal. Clarke did the same and they stood looking for a seat. Usually Bellamy ate alone and was about to head over to an empty table when he heard someone call Clarke’s name. It was Wells Jaha, the chancellor’s son. Clarke led Bellamy over the table and they sat down with Wells and some of the other teens of Alpha station.  
“Oh my god, Clarke! I cannot believe they paired you with him! You definitely should have been paired with someone from Alpha!” A girl at the table said. Bellamy grit his teeth and kept his mouth shut. From his experience it was better to stay quiet than to try and defend himself.  
“How is he going to provide for you?? You’ll starve to death! Oh my god, you’ll have to get a job!” The girl continued and Bellamy rolled his eyes. “He’s so dumb he can’t even talk! Do they even go to school?” Bellamy had heard enough. He got up from the table, grabbed his apple off the tray, and dumped the empty tray into the bucket.


	2. Chapter 2

Bellamy walked away from Glass' harsh words and headed for Arrow station. There was an unused room with a window that he liked to sit at. He reached it rather quickly and pulled out a history book he had hidden behind a machine. He settled himself in beside the window and opened the book. He was so absorbed in what he was reading he hadn’t noticed Clarke enter the room. She sat down beside him and startled him out of his book.  
“Clarke?” He said.  
“You know it’s illegal to steal books from the library,” Clarke said.  
“Don’t pull that on me Princess, I saw the stack of books under your bed,” He said with a smirk.  
“I was going to return them,” She said.  
“And I’ll return this one when I’m done,” He said and went back to reading.  
“Bellamy,” Clarke started. “I’m sorry about what Glass said.” Bellamy shrugged not even bothering to look up from the book.  
“I just wanted you to know that I don’t think those things about you. I think you’re very smart. You’re reading a history textbook. For fun,” Clarke said. Bellamy closed the book and looked at her.   
“I can’t provide for you. I will never be able to give you what you used to have,” Bellamy said.  
“I can provide for us. I like working. I actually love working in the medical bay. I don’t need you to take care of me,” Clarke said.  
“That’s what I’m supposed to do. We’re supposed to have a child and you’re supposed to take care of it while I support the three of us and I can’t do that. I couldn’t even take care of Octavia and now she’s in the sky box,” Bellamy said. He was angry, but he was only angry with himself. He was angry that he had screwed up so badly.  
“I was training to be a guard member, but they caught me hiding my sister. They had my mother floated, my sister arrested, and me demoted to janitor,” Bellamy said.   
“Bellamy, it’s okay. It’s all going to be okay,” Clarke said to comfort him. She wanted to pull him into a hug, but she wasn’t sure he would allow her. They sat there in silence for a while. Bellamy picked up his book and began reading again while Clarke settled in beside him. After a few hours Bellamy felt calm enough to put the book back. He looked at Clarke who had fallen asleep beside him. She was beautiful. How had he gotten so lucky? He gently lifted her up into his arms and carried her back to the flat. He laid her down in the bed, grabbed his pillows and went out to the living area to sleep on the couch.  
“Bellamy?” Clarke called out for him.  
“Yeah?” He came back to the doorway.  
“You can stay,” She said.   
“Uh… okay,” He said after a moment of hesitation. He climbed into the bed and left as much room as he could for Clarke. He had difficulty sleeping that night because he was so hyper aware of Clarke’s body. When he awoke Clarke was already gone, he figured her medical training began early. Bellamy’s shift didn’t start for another few hours so he got ready slowly before going to the exchange. The exchange was busy today, buzzing with the rich elite of Alpha station buying supplies and accessories for the upcoming comet viewing. Bellamy had never been to a comet viewing before, but he had heard they were quite beautiful. Comets would sometimes pass by the Ark and the Alphas would get all dressed up to watch it together. Sometimes they would even play live music.   
Bellamy browsed the stands not really looking to buy anything, just to kill time before he went to work, until he passed by a stand with old toys on it. He stopped in front of the stand and the vendor wrinkled his nose at Bellamy. Bellamy had his eye on a brown bear. Clarke had said she had always wanted one.  
“How many ration points for the bear?” Bellamy asked.  
“200. If you aren’t going to buy it, I’m going to have to ask you to leave. It’s bad for business,” the vendor said like he was talking to someone not even worthy enough to clean his shoe.  
“I’ll take it,” He said pressing his thumb to the scanner. The bear was worth two weeks of meals for him, but he wanted Clarke to think he was worthy of her. The vendor handed the bear to Bellamy. The bear was bigger than the one he had found for Octavia with soft brown fur and two black eyes. He hoped Clarke would love it.  
He put the bear inside his jumpsuit so it would be safe and went to work. His shift was just like any other until he was heading for the trash chute. He swiped his card to enter the hallway in Mecha station. At first he couldn’t tell anything was wrong, but as he got deeper into the hallway he found it hard to breathe. He suddenly felt very light headed.  
“The airlocks,” Bellamy thought. He stumbled toward the emergency button at the far end of the hallway. Bellamy reached the end of the hall just as he began to black out. He prayed that he had been able to hit the button.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been a long shift and Clarke was just about to clock out for the day when a group of guards brought in a familiar dark haired man. Clarke quickly set up the table for the guards to put Bellamy on.  
“What happened?” She demanded.  
“Faulty airlock in Mecha station,” The guard replied and they left without any more words. Clarke put an oxygen mask over his face before going to find her mother.  
“We’ll have to see if there’s any damage to his lungs. We don’t know how long he was there for,” Abby said. Abby barked some orders at the other medical staff standing around and told Clarke to clock out.  
“I can help!” Clarke insisted, but Abby just shook her head. Abby unzipped the jumpsuit Bellamy was wearing to prepare him for the x-rays. Clarke looked over and saw the bear. Clarke hesitantly removed the bear and held it in her arms. She knew he had gotten it for her and how much it had probably cost him. She sat down next to Bellamy and held his hand. The x-rays went quickly and Abby told her that there had been no damage to his lungs and that the MRI had come out well too. Bellamy was going to be fine and be able to go home when he woke up.  
“He’s going to be fine,” Abby repeated, but Clarke wouldn’t believe it until he woke up. She wasn’t sure where it was coming from, but she felt the need to protect him and she had failed. He was lying on her emergency table and she had not been able to help him. Abby left them alone to tend to other patients while they waited for him to wake up.  
Clarke knew what was happening. She knew that more airlocks would be ‘faulty’. Something had to be done and she knew it had to be soon. She watched Bellamy’s chest rise and fall and wondered how many more breaths they would have left.  
When Bellamy finally woke up he began to panic. The mask on his face began to freak him out. He couldn’t remember what happened or how he had gotten wherever he was, but then he saw Clarke.  
“Bellamy! Everything’s okay. Please, calm down,” She said and put her hands on his shoulders, pushing him lightly to the table.  
“I’m going to take the mask off,” Clarke announced before gently removing it. He thought back to his day to try and remember what happened. He remembered the bear he had purchased for Clarke. He felt around his jumpsuit and began to panic because it wasn’t there anymore. Someone had probably stolen it from him while he was blacked out.  
“Where’s the bear?” He croaked. Clarke’s heart sank. He hadn’t gotten it for her. She handed him the bear and he sighed with relief before handing it back to her.  
“I got it for you,” He said.  
“Bellamy, there’s something I need to tell you,” Clarke said. “The Ark is” she started to say, but Abby came in cutting her off.  
“Oh good you’re awake. You can go home right after I do a few tests,” Abby said. Abby made him follow her finger with his eyes and read a few words off a card before telling him he was okay to go.  
“What were you saying?” Bellamy asked when they were in the hallway outside Medical Station.  
“Not here,” Clarke whispered and Bellamy nodded understanding. When they entered their flat Bellamy looked at her expectantly.  
“The Ark is dying,” She said.  
“What?” Bellamy asked.  
“The Ark was supposed to last for another 100 years, but the original creators never thought it would contain this many people. We’re running out of air,” Clarke said.  
“That means they’ll have to implement the exodus plan,” Bellamy said. Everyone knew about the exodus plan. It was a joke among school children how there wouldn’t be enough seats for the bad kids.  
“Yes, but there’s not enough time to make several trips to and from the Ark. Bellamy, they’re going to leave some of us to die,” Clarke said and the reality hit Bellamy like a ton of bricks. He would make sure Clarke was on one of those ships.  
“Bellamy, they probably won’t bring the prisoners. We need to get Octavia out of there,” Clarke said. Bellamy hadn’t even thought of that.  
“Oh my god,” He muttered. There was no way he would be able to save Octavia and Clarke. He probably wouldn’t even be able to get Octavia out.   
“There’s a week until visitor’s day,” Bellamy said. “I’ll have to think of something before then.”


	4. Chapter 4

A week later it was visiting day at the skybox. Bellamy knew Octavia would be angry with him for not bringing his new wife, but Clarke was working. He smiled to himself thinking of the little outbreak his sister would have. He missed her, and if he was being honest with himself, he was lonely. At least until he had married Clarke.  
Bellamy swiped his card to prison station, but on the other side of the door were two guards. It wasn’t unusual to see guards in this hallway, but the way they held themselves told Bellamy something was wrong.  
“There are no visitors to prison station today,” the guard on the left announced.  
“But, it’s the first Saturday of the month,” Bellamy said, thinking maybe he had the date wrong.  
“There has been an outbreak in prison station. Not air-borne, but there will be no visitors this month,” Explained the guard on the right.  
“But my sister,” Bellamy started, but the guards were beginning to get angry with him.  
“Sir, we’re going to have to ask you to leave now or we’ll have to remove you… by force,” Left guard said. When Bellamy stood there frozen Right Guard removed his electrified baton from his belt. Bellamy backed away instinctively, but didn’t leave the hallway. He had to see his sister.  
“Sir, we will not ask again,” Left Guard said. Right Guard moved forward but Bellamy held his ground. The guard jabbed the baton into Bellamy’s stomach. Bellamy cried out, but did not move. The guard jabbed again and this time Bellamy slumped to the ground.   
Left Guard kicked Bellamy in the stomach before dragging him by his arms out of the hall. He took several deep breaths before struggling to his feet. He resisted the urge to wince with every painful step. When he was finally able to re ach his flat he collapsed to the floor, not even having enough energy to get to a chair.   
"Bellamy?!" Clarke let out a little cry and rushed towards him. She was still dressed in her scrubs he noticed weakly. “What happened? Are you okay?” Bellamy simply lifted his shirt to reveal the burns and bruises left by the guards. “We have to get you to medical. They can put something on your burns,” Clarke said pulling at his arm. He shook his head. He didn’t want Clarke’s mom to see what had happened.  
“We need to take care of the burns,” Clarke said. Bellamy shook his head. Clarke let out an exasperated sigh and disappeared into the bathroom. She returned with a cool wet cloth. She pressed it gently to one of his burns and he hissed. Clarke pulled his head into her lap and absently ran her fingers through his dark curly hair.  
“What happened?” Clarke asked.  
“They wouldn’t let me see Octavia,” Bellamy said.  
“Why not?” She asked her fingers still buried in his soft hair.  
“I thought you would’ve already known. There was an outbreak,” Bellamy said.  
“What?” Clarke asked confused.  
“Yeah, the guards told me there was an outbreak in the skybox and they weren’t allowed visitors,” Bellamy replied.  
“There’s no outbreak in the skybox…” Clarke said. As a medical intern she would know.  
“Why would they tell me that if there was no outbreak?” Bellamy asked.  
“It’s begun,” Clarke said.  
“What’s begun?” Bellamy asked. The pain had subsided enough for him to sit up to look at her.  
“I think…. I think they’ve sent them to Earth,” Clarke said. She could see him processing the information and saw his expression turn angry.  
“They’re just kids! We have to do something,” Bellamy jumped to his feet and headed for the door, but Clarke caught his arm.  
“Bellamy, please. They killed my father for trying to tell people the truth. They’ll kill you,” She said.  
“Clarke, I have to do something!” Bellamy said pulling out of her grip.  
“You won’t be any good to Octavia dead!” Clarke said walking to the bedroom and slamming the door behind her.  
Clarke heard the flat’s front door shut and she knew he was going to do something stupid. She collapsed onto the bed letting the sobs rack her body. Bellamy would not be coming back alive. When the guards find him he will be executed almost immediately.  
When she had cried herself out she emerged from the bedroom and waited in the living room. The guard would be there soon enough to inform her of a ‘freak accident’ that led to her husband’s death.  
20 minutes later the time came. She heard the swipe of the ID card at the door and the little click that signaled granted access. The door opened, but it wasn’t the guard on the other side. She ran to Bellamy and threw her arms around his neck. She broke down in another round of sobs. Bellamy’s arms went around her and he whispered that he was alright and everything would be okay. He lifted her up into his arms and carried her to the bed where he curled up with her.  
“I didn’t realize you cared about me,” Bellamy whispered. He had never had anyone care about whether he lived or died.  
“I can’t lose you too,” Clarke said when she had calmed down.  
“You were right. I’m no good to Octavia or you if I’m dead,” Bellamy said.  
“We will get to the ground,” Clarke said firmly. Bellamy nodded hoping she was right.


	5. Chapter 5

“Hey, Clarke are you going to the comet viewing?” It was Finn, the absolute last person she ever wanted. “Because, I was thinking we could go together.” Clarke sat there stunned. “What are we talking about?” Bellamy asked sitting down beside Clarke.  
“I was just asking my girlfriend to go to the comet viewing with me,” Finn said dismissing Bellamy and returning his focus to Clarke.  
“You disgusting pig. You’re married, Finn! You cheated on me and we broke up months ago!” Clarke spat angrily.  
“And she already has a date,” Bellamy said able to keep his cool because he found the situation slightly amusing. Clarke raised an eyebrow at him. She didn’t think he would want to go because he didn’t like mixing with the alphas.  
“Oh? With who?” Finn asked in a disbelieving voice.  
“With me, her husband,” Bellamy replied.  
“I find it hard to believe that Clarke was matched with someone like you,” Finn said.  
“Someone like him?” Clarke asked before Bellamy could reply.  
“Yeah. From Walden,” Finn said.  
“What’s so different about those who come from Walden? Does he not breathe the same air? Eat the same food? Wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night like you? You’re right he’s not like you. He’s twice the man you’ll ever be you lying, cheating, chauvinistic rat!” Clarke said. Finn stared at her for a minute, but then got up and stormed away. Clarke let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding.  
“I’ve been meaning to ask you if you’d want to go to the comet viewing with me,” Bellamy said.  
“Are you sure you want to go?” Clarke asked.  
“Yeah, I’ve never been to one,” Bellamy said with a shrug.  
“Okay, sure, I’d love to go with you,” Clarke said smiling at him.  
“So you and the rat?” Bellamy asked. Clarke let out a heavy sigh.  
“He’s about your age. We dated for about a year. We were sure we would be matched when I turned 18, but then I found out he was cheating on me. I ended it and a few months later he matched with the other girl and they got married,” Clarke explained.  
“Wow,” Bellamy said.  
“It worked out better for me anyway,” Clarke said causing Bellamy to blush slightly.  
***  
The night of the comet viewing Clarke was standing in her mom’s flat feeling like a girl going on her first date. She was wearing a dress her mom had made her from silver fabric that came to just above the knee.   
“You look beautiful, but there’s just one more thing that would make it perfect,” Abby disappeared into her bedroom. She came back holding a necklace that Clarke recognized. She knew her father had given it to her mother on their one year anniversary.  
“I want you to have it. As a late wedding gift,” Abby said as Clarke lifted her hair for her mom to put the necklace on her.  
“It’s beautiful,” Clarke said touching it lightly. There was a knock on the door and Clarke went to answer it. She opened the door and smiled up at a very handsome Bellamy. Bellamy looked at Clarke and she took his breath away.  
“You’re beautiful,” He said. Her cheeks got warm and she smiled.  
“You clean up nicely,” She said and let him in the flat. Bellamy was wearing dark pants, a button up shirt, and his work shoes, but to Clarke he couldn’t look more perfect.  
“Hello Mrs. Griffin. How are you?” Bellamy asked politely, but she could tell he was nervous around her.  
“I’m good thank you for asking, but I have to be getting to work,” Abby said and the three of them left the flat. Clarke said a quick goodbye to her mother then they were heading toward the viewing area. It was held in the same room as the exchange, but it had been decorated for the event. Bellamy had never felt so out of place in his life. He glanced at Clarke and she didn’t look particularly comfortable either.   
“Now what?” Bellamy asked unsure of what to do with himself.  
“Now we mingle until they announce the comet,” Clarke replied. Bellamy felt nervous, but Clarke slipped her hand into his and he felt a little better. Clarke and Bellamy walked around talking to people that Clarke knew through her parents. Most of them had the decency to smile and say hello to Bellamy, but none of them were particularly fond of him. They knew he wasn’t like them and he felt their eyes on him when he wasn’t looking. He excused himself from a conversation and went to get a drink of water. He inwardly groaned when he saw Glass near the drinks.  
“I heard he paid off the chancellor so he could marry Clarke,” Glass’ friend said.   
“Well I heard his sister was arrested for stealing drugs! I bet he’s a criminal too! I can’t believe they let him in here,” Glass said with disgust. Bellamy clenched his fists to keep from saying anything.  
“Bell,” Clarke said from behind him. Bellamy turned around and stared at her.  
“What? I’m sorry, I won’t call you that again,” Clarke said.  
“No it’s just that’s what Octavia calls me. Reminded me of her,” He said and smiled sadly.  
“Do you want to get out of here? I know this great place where we can watch the comet by ourselves,” Clarke suggested. Bellamy was relieved and nodded. She grabbed his hand and led him from the room and down a series of halls toward Arrow station. He knew exactly where they were going. She opened the door and led him to his favorite spot with the big window. He smiled at the thought of their first day together. They talked and joked while waiting for the comet to pass by.  
“Shh here it comes!” Clarke said excitedly when she could see it in the distance. Instead of watching the comet, he watched her. He watched the smile on her face grow wider as the comet came nearer. Then she glanced at him.  
“What?” She asked. He leaned in and captured her lips with his. In that moment everything was perfect. Until the alarms started to go off.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes at the end!

“Launch will begin in 5 minutes, 4:59, 4:58,” The alarm spoke over the intercoms. Bellamy and Clarke pulled away from each other.  
“They’ve initiated a launch. Bellamy we have to make it onto one of those ships!” Clarke said suddenly springing into action. She grabbed his hand and together they ran toward the exodus ships. In the halls everything had erupted into complete chaos. Pere were running trying to carry as much as they could.  
“3:22,” Bellamy and Clarke had made it to the launch deck, but it was so crowded with people trying to cram themselves into a ship, there was no way they were going to make it.  
“2:56,” Bellamy grabbed Clarke’s hand and forcefully pushed his way through the people. Clarke tried not to look at anyone they pushed passed, she’d want all of them to get on before her. Bellamy made it to one of the dropships and pushed Clarke in. There was only one seat left and Bellamy pushed Clarke into it.  
“Bellamy no,” Clarke said shaking her head.  
“Yes, Clarke. When you get down there you tell my sister I love her,” Bellamy said.  
“No, I can’t do it without you,” Clarke whispered.  
“Yes, you can,” Bellamy said.  
“1:00”  
“There’s something I need to tell you,” Bellamy said as he started to buckle her seat. “I’m glad I matched with you. I’ve been alone so long I forgot what it was like to feel anything for anyone except my sister. I didn’t want to open myself to anyone, but as soon as I saw you, I knew I couldn’t reject you. I know we only spent two weeks together, but I need you to know.” He knelt down in front of her and took her face in his hands. “I’m in love with you. I’ve been in love with you since the moment we signed our names.” The tears streamed steadily down Clarke’s face.  
“I love you,” He said and kissed her.  
“30,29,28,27,26,25,24.” Suddenly a man touched Bellamy’s arm. Bellamy pulled away from Clarke and looked up at the man knowing he was going to force Bellamy to leave.  
“Take my seat,” The man said.  
“No! Sir!” Bellamy called after him, but he had already exited the ship and the door slip shut behind him.  
“10”  
“Daddy!” A little girl cried out from beside the empty seat. Bellamy’s heart broke for the little girl, but he sat down and buckled himself in.  
“5”  
Bellamy locked eyes with the man on the other side of the glass doors.  
“May we meet again,” Bellamy whispered and they were launched into space and were hurdling toward Earth. The girl next to him let out a blood curling scream. The young woman beside her, he assumed the mother, tried to keep her calm, but it was no use.   
He wasn’t sure how long they were falling, it could have been one minute or it could have been twenty. He locked his eyes on the back of Clarke’s head then the ship jerked violently. He assumed they had entered the Earth’s atmosphere. Clarke had told him it would be rough once they entered it. The jerking continued until the ship crashed into the Earth with a huge jolt.  
The ship’s power died leaving them in darkness and everything was silent, even the girl beside him. For the first time in their lives they didn’t hear the constant hum of machines.  
“Is everyone alright?” He heard Clarke call out, then everyone burst to life. Everyone was talking at once and calling out for their loved ones in the dark. Bellamy rose from his seat and stumbled toward the wall of the ship. He had to find the door to open it. He ran his hands across the cool metal until he found what he determined must be the door. He felt around for a latch or lever and when he found it the door popped open. Light poured into the room and he squinted against it.  
People pushed him aside and ran to see the Earth for the first time. He turned back to the ship and Clarke was standing behind him. She looked up at him and smirked.  
“So you love me?” She asked with the smirk still on her face. Bellamy blushed, but he didn’t want to deny it.  
“Well, I love you too,” Clarke said giving him a peck on the cheek and sauntering out of the ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm starting to run out of ideas so if anyone has any suggestions I'm willing to listen!


	7. Chapter 7

“Bellamy, shhh, it’s okay, shhh,” Clarke whispered as Bellamy’s eyes popped open in panic. He hadn’t been loud or even moving very much, Clarke just had a natural sense of when Bellamy was distressed. They were in the tent they shared together, lying on a make shift bed.  
“Do you want to talk about it?” Clarke asked. Bellamy was silent a moment while Clarke drew comforting circles on his bare chest with her fingers.   
“I see his face in my dreams every night,” He said. His voice was even, but Clarke could hear the guilt in his words.  
“Who?” She asked.  
“The man. The one who gave up his seat for me,” He said. Clarke lifted her head to look at him.  
“Bel,” She started, but he shook his head.  
“I wasn’t trying to make anyone feel guilty. I needed you to know I love you. I never wanted anyone to die for me,” Bellamy said.  
“For us,” Clarke corrected.  
“What?” Bellamy asked confused.  
“That man, Tor Lemkin, he died for us. For a chance at a happy life for us,” She said. She knew that it wouldn’t make Bellamy feel completely better, but she hoped she could relieve some of his guilt, that it had been her fault too.  
“You knew him?” Bellamy asked.  
“Not personally. His daughter, Reese, was a patient of my mother’s,” Clarke said softly.  
“What was wrong with her?” He whispered.  
“She was going blind because of oxygen deprivation,” Clarke shuddered in Bellamy’s arms. Bellamy was quiet and Clarke drifted off to sleep again. The next morning when Clarke woke up, Bellamy was gone. His shoes and his pack made from seat belts and the dropship’s parachute were gone. Clarke exited the tent completely panicked. She looked wildly around camp until she found him in the supply tent. His expression was hostile and Clarke drew in a breath, but she stepped to block his path.  
“Move, Clarke,” He said, his face softening slightly at the sight of her.  
“Where are you going?” She asked barely able to keep her tone even.  
“Hunting,” He replied shortly and began to step around her. She could tell he was lying. He wasn’t carrying a spear that they had constructed for hunting.  
“Bellamy!” She grabbed his arm and looked up at him. She pleaded with her eyes for him to tell her what was going on, to not leave her. “Bellamy,” She whispered again.  
“I need to find my sister. I need to get away from here, from what I’ve done,” He said and gestured at the camp. They had only been here a week, but they had done relatively well. They had groups that were gathering berries and nuts, groups that hunted, and groups that were constantly guarding the camp. Bellamy had helped Clarke guide these people to make sure they were able to survive. Clarke was confused, what had he done that made him feel he needed to leave? She was also angry that he was going to leave her without even saying goodbye.  
“I never thought you would be a coward. But, if you want to run away, then fine. Go. But, surviving isn’t easy. If you leave you will still have to make the hard choices. If you stay we can make the hard choices together,” Clarke said and stalked away from him, she had a camp to run. She pretended like it didn’t bother her when she watched Bellamy walk off into the trees about an hour later. She retreated into the dropship to take care of some patients to distract herself.  
Long after the sun had set she finally made her way back to her tent. She frowned at the thought of it only being hers. She twisted the gold band on her finger and thought about taking it off, thinking her and Bellamy were done, but as she opened the flap of her tent she stopped short. Her hands dropped to her side as she stared at Bellamy sitting on their bed. He looked up at her and gave her an apologetic smile. She turned away from him silently and removed her shoes slowly and placed them by the entryway. She shuffled around the tent trying to find little things to do until Bellamy stopped her.  
“Clarke,” He said gently grabbing her arm and pulling her back onto the bed. She still remained silent and avoided meeting his gaze.  
“I’m sorry,” He said and gave her that look that could melt even the coldest of hearts, but she wasn’t quite ready to let him know he was forgiven.  
“You were going to leave me,” She said and played with the ring on her finger.  
“I need to find Octavia and I felt so guilty about letting that man give up his seat that I thought now was a good time to go find her,” Bellamy said, “I was dumb. I’m sorry.”  
“If you want to go find your sister, we will. Together,” Clarke said.  
“You forgive me?” Bellamy asked like he was shocked that it had been so easy.  
“You’re forgiven,” She said and Bellamy pulled her into his arms.  
“Clarke!” a voice yelled out somewhere in the camp. Clarke pulled away from Bellamy and exited the tent as the shouts got louder. Bellamy was right behind her as a man approached them carrying a body in his arms.  
“Take him to the dropship!” Clarke ordered, panic written on her face. When the body was placed on the dropship’s table Clarke gasped. The body was badly cut and bruised. It was almost unrecognizable as human.   
“He didn’t come down with us,” Clarke whispered to herself, but Bellamy heard.  
“These clothes are clearly from the Ark,” Bellamy said.  
“Maybe another dropship? Or… Or the original 100?” She thought out loud. Clarke felt the boy’s forehead, it was warm but not dangerously hot.  
“Go get me some clean water,” Clarke ordered the guard and he scurried away. Clarke moved forward to get a closer look at the boy, but Bellamy held her back.  
“He could be dangerous,” Bellamy said.  
“He’s unconscious, Bel,” Clarke said and rolled her eyes. He held her back a minute longer before finally letting her go. The guard came back and left the bucket of water beside Clarke. Clarke dipped a rag into the bucket and began cleaning the wounds on the boy. She stopped when she got to his hands. She stared at them.  
“What’s wrong?” Bellamy asked moving closer.  
“His fingernails were torn off…” Clarke said showing him the fingers.  
“Maybe they just fell off,” Bellamy suggested. But Clarke shook her head and pointed out several reasons about why they had to have been torn off, but Bellamy didn’t really understand. Clarke continued cleaning the boy until she was satisfied. When she was done she told a guard to watch him and to wake her if the boy woke up. Bellamy followed Clarke back to their tent. They both settled onto the bed, Bellamy’s arms wrapped around Clarke’s waist. Clarke fell asleep quickly, but Bellamy stayed awake. There was something off about the boy they had found.


	8. Chapter 8

It soon became clear to Bellamy that Clarke would not be able to go looking for Octavia with him. He saw the way people looked up to her and the way they listened to her commands. These people needed her and it broke his heart to leave her, but he had waited long enough to go looking for Octavia. It was killing him to be away from her for so long, she could be hurt or scared. She needed him. So he approached Clarke in the dropship which they had turned into the med bay, it was hard to catch her anywhere else. She was leaning over the mysterious boy who had still not woken up. When she noticed him she looked up and gave him a tired smile and he smiled back waiting for her to be done checking over his many wounds.  
“What’s up?” She asked as she finished.  
“I’m going to look for Octavia. I know you wanted to come with me, but these people need you here, but I need to find her. Please understand,” he begged her with his eyes. Her smile slipped from her face as she thought about what he said.  
“You’re right,” she said finally. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Promise me, you’ll come back,” she continued. She looked up at him and now she was the one pleading with him. He crossed the room to her and enveloped her.  
“You know I will,” He said and placed a kiss to the top of her head.  
“When are you leaving?” She asked with her face pressed against his chest.  
“Sunrise. I’ll be back in a week,” he replied. She nodded and pulled away from him.  
“I’ll make you a pack with everything you might need,” Clarke said wiping at her eyes to get rid of the tears.  
“Thank you,” he said and he wasn’t just talking about the pack, but also for letting him go.  
He left her alone in the drop-ship so he could gather some things from around the camp he thought he might need and when he did Clarke crumpled to her knees in a pile of sobs. It was dangerous out there and she didn’t want to lose him, but she knew how important Octavia was to him. She let herself cry for a minute before wiping her eyes and getting back to her work with a brave face.  
**  
The next morning Bellamy kissed Clarke goodbye and she watched him walk into the thick trees. She wondered if he had a plan, she had been too afraid to ask the night before. It was hard watching him walk into the forest and not run to catch up with him, but she took a deep breath and turned back to camp.   
**  
The first death came later that day. The hunting party had gone out just before Bellamy had left and had returned at nearly sundown empty handed and short one member. When Clarke asked what happened they told her about warriors who came from the trees and they were lucky that they had only lost one person. They started referring to these warriors as “grounders”.  
**  
“Clarke! Clarke!” A man called after her as she was passing by the drop-ship. “The boy’s awake!” Clarke followed the man into the ship. The boy’s eyes were open, but hazy.  
“What’s your name?” Clarke asked.  
“Graham,” He said with a hoarse voice.  
“Where did you come from?” She asked.  
“Another drop-ship. There were no survivors. Then the monsters….” Graham mumbled incoherently.  
“What monsters?” Clarke assumed he was talking about the grounders, but needed to make sure.  
“They look like men, but have faces of animals. They’re quick, impossibly so. They jump out of trees and blend into the woods so well you would never know they were there,” He whispered. “They speak a language I’ve never heard before and do horrible, horrible things.”  
“You’re safe here,” Clarke reassured him as his eyes slid shut. Clarke sighed and not for the first time she wished Bellamy were there.   
In the next few days as Graham regained his strength, Clarke attempted to get more information out of him. But he claimed he couldn’t remember anything except the pain they had inflicted on him.  
Clarke was sitting by the fire listening to a woman, Alexi, tell stories of the ground before its destruction. Clarke loved to hear the stories and hoped one day Earth would be like that again. An ear splitting scream silenced everyone. Clarke was the first on her feet running toward the scream. She stopped short and covered her mouth to keep her own scream in.  
Reese, the young girl that Bellamy had been seated beside on the drop-ship, was laying on the ground with a spear through her body. Clarke knelt beside her and pressed two fingers against her neck searching for a pulse. There was nothing, she was dead. Whispers spread through the crowd and the girl’s mother pushed her way to the front.   
She looked at Clarke with hopeful eyes. Clarke could only shake her head. The mother collapsed to the ground and sobbed.   
“The grounders!” A voice called from the crowd.  
“We should kill them!” Another joined in.  
“Yeah!” Came a shout of agreement in the crowd.  
“No! We must not retaliate!” Clarke strained to be heard.  
“We should just let them get away with murdering a little girl?” a younger woman, only a little older than Clarke, asked.  
“We’ve been here less than a month. We can’t start any fights. We’d get ourselves killed,” Clarke said.  
“Who put you in charge?!”  
“Yeah!”  
“We don’t need you!”  
“Go find your boyfriend!”  
Clarke shook her head and went to her tent. If they wanted to get themselves killed then fine.  
**  
The next day she was working in their small garden. All morning she had been receiving glares and insults for being a traitor. She only had to wait for Bellamy and then they could leave together. Just as she was thinking this she saw him, as if he had known she needed him. He was stumbling through the trees. She ran to him and threw her arms around him. He was surprised, but it only took a second for him to wrap his arms around her waist. She kissed his cheek and buried her face in his neck.  
“Hey, what’s wrong?” He asked.   
“Reese was killed last night. By grounders. People who survived the bombs I’m guessing, but Bell…. Our people want to start a war,” Clarke quickly explained the events he had missed in his weeks of absence.  
“And where have you been? You’ve been gone for two weeks,” Clarke finally said.  
“I had a little trouble,” Bellamy said pulling up his shirt to reveal a large wound on his chest.  
“Oh my god, Bell,” Clarke said and ran her fingers over the damaged skin.  
“Grounders got me, but Octavia found me,” Bellamy moved aside and revealed a beautiful young girl. She looked a lot like her brother.  
“I’m Clarke, I’ve heard a lot about you,” Clarke said extending her hand out to the girl.  
“Odd, because I haven’t heard anything about you,” Octavia said without taking Clarke’s hand. Clarke pulled her hand back and looked at Bellamy with a hurt expression.  
“Oh, um…. I helped Bellamy run this camp before he went looking for you,” Clarke said leaving out the part about her being married to Bellamy.   
“Not very well on your own though, I see,” Octavia said.  
“Yeah, well it’s not easy when a mysterious group of people is trying to kill everyone,” Clarke said before turning to Bellamy. “You should go put some antibacterial cream on that wound and show Octavia around a little.” Clarke turned away from them and headed for her tent trying not to seem angry or hurt.


	9. Chapter 9

Clarke sat around the fire watching the other members of the camp eat dinner. She, herself, had not eaten in what must have been a day and a half. Food was limited in the camp and she figured she could go without it. No one sat near her for fear they would also be seen as a traitor if they did. Bellamy took a seat beside her with a piece of smoke pork and Octavia beside him, but she didn’t acknowledge them.   
“Aren’t you going to eat?” Bellamy asked. She shook her head.  
“You have to eat. Here, take some of mine,” He said pulling apart the meat, but she refused it.  
“It’s not your job to worry about me,” Clarke said.  
“Actually it is,” Bellamy said and held out the meat. Clarke rolled her eyes and stood up.  
“You two can sleep in my tent tonight. Bellamy knows which one it is,” She said looking at Octavia before heading into the forest.   
She knew this part of the forest pretty well, but she had never been in it after dark. She knew it was dangerous, but she wasn’t thinking very clearly at the moment. It wasn’t until her anger seeped out of her that she realized how dumb she had been to leave camp by herself. She jumped as a bird flew through the trees. She stopped walking and looked around. She didn’t recognize this part of the forest. Had she taken a wrong turn somewhere? Panic began to rise in her chest. She was alone and vulnerable. A grounder could come up at any minute and easily spear her through the chest.  
“Clarke?” she heard a voice call out to her. She remained silent. She didn’t need saving and she didn’t want it. “Clarke? What are you doing out here?” Graham came into the clearing with Clarke.  
“Just had to get away for a minute,” Clarke said and forced a smile at him.   
“Yes, I can imagine the glares are quite suffocating. I’m on your side by the way,” Graham said. Clarke rolled her eyes.  
“It’s nothing I can’t handle,” She said.  
“Oh I’m sure you can handle anything life throws at you,” Graham said flashing his best smile at her. If this was his attempt at flirting with her, it was pathetic, but it made her smile a little. Then she remembered Bellamy and the way he made her feel which caused her to shiver.  
“Are you cold?” Graham asked already starting to pull of his jacket for her.  
“No, I’m fine. I better head back to camp,” She said trying to ignore the hurt look on his face. She turned back to camp and he followed behind her silently. She tried not to glance at the spot where she had last seen Bellamy, but she couldn’t help it. She looked over and he was looking back at her. He raised his eyebrows at her to question what was wrong, but then his expression changed when he saw Graham coming up behind her. Clarke looked away and headed into the dropship to settle in for the night.   
“You’re not coming to sit by the fire with the rest of us?” Graham asked as she was walking away.  
“No, I’m kind of tired,” She said shaking her head. She entered the dropship and flopped into one of the seats. It was Bellamy’s seat to be exact. She pulled her knees up to her chest and curled into the chair. This was not how she imagined their reunion would go. She dozed off thinking about Bellamy’s arms around her and the soft kisses he would leave on her forehead.  
***  
Bellamy and Octavia sat away from the rest of the group as he tried to get her to tell him what had happened. She only shook her head silently and took small bites of food. Bellamy twisted the gold band on his finger, something he had seen Clarke do when she was worried. Bellamy’s heart sunk as he remembered the look on Clarke’s face earlier.  
“Octavia, there’s something I need to tell you,” Bellamy said suddenly.  
“You’re married. To Clarke I’m guessing,” Octavia said. Bellamy’s mouth opened in surprise.   
“How did you know?” Bellamy asked.  
“The gold band on your finger and I see the way you look her,” Octavia explained. “You don’t seem very close.”  
“I think she’s mad at me because I didn’t tell you about her,” Bellamy said.  
“Well, yeah. Any girl would be pretty upset about that,” Octavia glared at him. “You need to apologize.”   
“Yeah I will…. Tomorrow,” Bellamy said before leading Octavia to the tent he had once shared with Clarke. He wanted nothing more than to go to the drop ship and tell Clarke to come back with him, but he knew she probably needed some time to cool down.  
**  
Clarke awoke to shouts and she immediately shot out of her seat. She walked quickly to the open door of the dropship, ignoring the ache in her neck, to see what was going on. Graham looked up at her sadly as he met her there. In his arms was the body of a man named Jared.  
“They found him in the woods,” Graham said.   
“It was another grounder attack!” came the predictable shout of the crowd. Clarke didn’t have the energy to attempt to calm them down.  
“Bury him,” Clarke said and Graham took the body away.  
“Who is that?” Bellamy asked from behind her. She turned to face him.  
“Who? Jared? You know Jared. Remember, he helped us set up the gardens,” Clarke said. She knew he was talking about Graham, but didn’t want to deal with it at the moment.  
“Not Jared. That kid,” Bellamy said pointing at Graham.  
“He was the kid the guards dragged in here unconscious before you left. His name is Graham,” Clarke said.  
“What do you know about him?” Bellamy asked.  
“Nothing really. He said he came from another dropship and that there hadn’t been any survivors. Then the grounders captured him and tortured him. That’s it really,” Clarke said and walked back into the dropship. Bellamy didn’t follow her and she was partly relieved.   
It was hours later when Clarke was taken inventory of the medicines and herbs that Octavia came in. The younger girl came in so quietly it took Clarke awhile to notice her presence causing Clarke to jump a little.   
“Oh! Octavia, do you need something?” Clarke asked.  
“Yeah, I um, I cut my leg the other day, Bell wanted me to get it checked it out to make sure it wasn’t infected or anything,” Octavia said.  
“Take a seat,” Clarke said pulling out some antiseptic herbs and bandages. Octavia rolled up her pant leg to reveal the cut. It was deep, but not bad enough to need stitches. All it really needed was a good cleaning and a bandage. Clarke began cleaning it when Octavia began speaking.  
“For being my brother’s wife you don’t spend very much time together. Bell said he loved you and that you loved him, but neither of you really seems to show it. I asked him why, but he said you were angry with him, but he wasn’t sure why,” she said. Clarke stopped cleaning the wound and looked up at her.  
“He… he told you about us?” Clarke asked.  
“Yes, of course he did. I’m his sister,” Octavia said. Clarke got back to bandaging the cut.  
“I was mad because I thought he wasn’t going to tell you,” Clarke said.  
“He misses you,” Octavia said standing up and leaving after Clarke was finished with her cut.  
She wasn’t able to see Bellamy until later that night. She sat down silently beside him as he was eating his dinner. She was nervous. She had been dumb, she should have spoken to him earlier.  
“Can we talk?” She finally asked.  
“Sure,” He said following her to their tent. He looked at her expectantly.  
“I’m sorry,” She said. “I thought you hadn’t told Octavia about us and it hurt. I was angry because you hurt me.” She twisted the gold ring on her finger waiting for him to say something. He walked toward her and cupped her face in his hands before kissing her on the lips. She was surprised at first, but then leaned into the kiss and brought her fingers up to his head. She laced her fingers into his hair and played with his curls.   
“Bell- oh sorry!” Octavia said and quickly stepped out of the tent again. Clarke pulled away from Bellamy, but smiled up at him.  
“God, I missed you Princess,” Bellamy said.   
**  
“Let’s get these walls up!” Clarke could hear Bellamy’s booming voice from where she was standing in the woods looking for herbs. They had started to run low at camp. Clarke’s mind wandered to thoughts of her mother. She wondered if she had made it or if their crash had been too rough. Neither Bellamy nor Octavia had seen any signs of another crash site. It made Clarke’s heart clench and she pushed the thoughts away when she heard rustling in the trees nearby. Clarke stilled her movements where she was kneeling and listened carefully. She could hear voices definitely one male and one female, but couldn’t tell exactly who they were.  
She rose slowly to her feet and walked quietly towards the voices. If they had come outside the small clearing of the camp Clarke figured they were hiding something. What she found was completely unexpected. Octavia was talking to a man she had never seen before. He was dressed in animal skins and furs and she guessed he was a grounder. She didn’t look afraid of him and he didn’t look like he was going to hurt Octavia and it made Clarke wonder about how much they really knew about these grounders. Were they really as dangerous as they thought?  
Just at that second her footing slipped and caused her to stumble loudly. The grounder perked up and automatically aimed his bow and arrow at Clarke. Clarke didn’t want to seem like a threat and raised her arms above her head, but the man looked like he was going to release the arrow anyway.  
“No! Lincoln! No!” Octavia stepped in front of Clarke to block her from the man who she now figured was Lincoln.  
“She will tell our secret,” Lincoln said gruffly.   
“No she won’t. She’s my brother’s wife. You won’t tell anyone will you, Clarke?” Octavia looked back at Clarke who was staring quite intently at the pair. Clarke shook her head.   
“No, I won’t tell. But if anyone else sees you they won’t hesitate to kill you on sight,” Clarke said. Lincoln hesitated before lowering his weapon. He stared at Clarke and she looked away.  
“He’s seen another dropship, Clarke,” Octavia said making Clarke’s head snap up to them.  
“What? Where? Can you take me to them?” Clarke needed to get to that dropship. She couldn’t keep these people alive forever if there was someone out there killing them. There would be guards on another dropship she hoped. Before she could get her answer there was a rustling in the woods and Lincoln slipped into the trees.   
“I thought I heard voices,” Graham smiled brightly at Octavia and Clarke.  
“Yeah we were just gathering some herbs,” Clarke said holding them up for him to see.  
“Oh, well you shouldn’t be out here alone. It’s dangerous with the grounders targeting us,” Graham said.  
“We’re fine. We’re heading back now,” Clarke said and gestured for Octavia to follow her. She led Octavia back to her tent. She glanced around to make sure no one would hear them.  
“Can you tell me what happened while you were at the original prisoners’ camp? And how you met Lincoln?” Clarke asked. Octavia wrinkled her nose before nodding her head.  
“I guess I should start with the grounders. There’s two groups of them. The first group is the largest, which is where Lincoln comes from. Their friendly and wouldn’t hurt any of us as long as we don’t hurt them. But then there’s the second group who broke away from the first group. Their violent and don’t take kindly to sharing their land,” Octavia started. “When we first got here we met the violent grounders. They killed about 5 of our people directly and then another 5 through an illness they sent to our camp through one of our people. I met Lincoln one day while out hunting with a group with about five others and we ran into some grounders. The violent kind. We split up and ran heading back towards camp, but I must have gotten lost because I ran right into Lincoln. I remember I was terrified and thought he was going to kill me, but upon hearing the other grounders he led me away and back to his camp.”  
“What happened to the rest of the prisoners?” Clarke asked.  
“The other grounders wanted them all dead. I went back to them to warn them of an army that was heading for them, but on my way I was injured. I never made it back and I haven’t seen them since. I went looking for them after my leg healed, but their dropship was abandoned except for a lot of burnt corpses,” Octavia said sadly.   
“They might still be out there,” Clarke said to reassure the younger girl, but Octavia shook her head.  
“No, Clarke. You don’t understand. The grounders were blood thirsty. They would stop at nothing, no matter how hard we tried for peace,” Octavia tried to explain to Clarke. They heard a loud crash from outside the tent. They exchanged glances before quickly running towards the commotion. Clarke could see Bellamy’s dark mop of hair from under a pile of lumber.  
“Bell!” Clarke let out a little yell before dropping down beside him. She shoved the pieces of wood off of him and he looked up and smiled at her.  
“Are you okay?” Clarke asked the panic clear in her voice.  
“I’m fine, Princess,” Bellamy responded and sat up. Clarke swatted at his arm.  
“Don’t do that to me!” Clarke exclaimed.  
“Sorry,” He said before pressing a kiss to her temple and getting to his feet. Clarke got up and watched as he got back to work. Octavia came up beside her with a small smile on her face.  
“What?” Clarke asked.  
“You two just have it so bad for each other,” Octavia said looking at her sister-in-law.


	10. Chapter 10

Clarke watched as Octavia let go of the tarp she was using just as her and Clarke had planned. Octavia exclaimed “Oh no” a little too loudly to be natural, but no one really paid her any attention. Clarke rolled her eyes at the girl’s horrible acting skills as she watched Octavia slip into the woods as she chased after the piece of tarp blown away by the wind. Clarke waited another moment before slipping into the woods herself unnoticed by any of the others. She made her way to the spot where Octavia had said Lincoln would meet them. She waited maybe a minute before Octavia and Lincoln silently appeared in the clearing without so much as a rustle of a bush. Clarke nodded respectfully at Lincoln and he reciprocated the action.  
“How many?” Clarke asked without any further delay.  
“Two dropships with about a total of 250 people, but now down to about 230,” Lincoln said.  
“You haven’t seen any other dropships?” Clarke asked. Lincoln shook his head.  
“What about guards? Men with big guns?” Clarke asked hoping the grounder knew what a gun was. Lincoln nodded.  
“Lots of them, maybe 50 in total who carry guns,” Lincoln informed her.  
“We need to get there..” Clarke started, but was unable to finish her sentence when she heard the other voice.  
“I really hoped it wouldn’t end like this,” Clarke recognized the voice as Graham’s. She turned around to see Graham holding a bow and arrow loaded and aimed at her. She raised an eyebrow. There were three of them and only one of him, the odds weren’t in his favor even if he managed to shoot her.  
“Graham,” Lincoln growled.  
“Wait you know him?” Octavia asked.  
“Oh yeah, Lincoln and I go way back. We grew up together and until recently we were best friends,” Graham said.  
“You’re a grounder? From the other clan,” Clarke pieced it together.  
“Very good, Princess,” Graham sneered before continuing, “yes my clan beat me up and knocked me out before sending me to infiltrate your camp and you fell for it.”  
“You can’t kill us all,” Octavia said.  
“No, I won’t need to. I’ve slowly been tearing your camp apart from the inside and after you two are dead,” he said pointing the arrow at Octavia and Clarke, “it’ll all fall apart. All the skypeople will die.”  
“I don’t think so,” came the deep voice that gave Clarke goosebumps. Graham ignored Bellamy’s voice knowing he wouldn’t have long to finish his job. He released the arrow and it sunk into Clarke’s chest before she could even think to move out the way. Bellamy then didn’t hesitate to spear the grounder through the chest. Octavia was leaning over Clarke asking if she was okay, but she was so stunned she couldn’t speak.  
“Clarke?! Clarke?!” Bellamy knelt down beside Clarke.  
“Bell, I’m fine,” Clarke said a little weakly.  
“You are definitely not fine! There’s an arrow sticking out of your chest,” Bellamy said.  
“I’m aware, but there’s nothing you can do. I…. I need my mom,” Clarke said.  
“Clarke! The other camp! Your mom might be there!” Octavia exclaimed.  
“Lincoln?” Clarke asked hoping he hadn’t slipped away already. He appeared above her. Bellamy gave him a suspicious look, but decided it wasn’t the time to ask questions.  
“How far is the other camp?” Clarke asked Lincoln.  
“Maybe an hour walk,” Lincoln responded.  
“Will you lead us there?” Clarke asked Lincoln who nodded.  
“Octavia go back to camp and tell them that Graham, Bellamy, and I went searching for the other dropships and that we’ll be back in a week,” Clarke said and Octavia nodded. “Bellamy, I need you to carry me. I can’t walk or I might bleed out.”  
“Of course,” Bellamy said lifting Clarke into his arms carefully. She held her breath to keep from yelling in pain as the arrow moved in her chest. Octavia glanced back at them once before slipping away back toward camp, then Bellamy with Clarke in his arms followed Lincoln into the woods toward Clarke’s only hope.  
**  
“Clarke, you have to stay awake. Please, stay awake,” Bellamy begged the girl in his arms. Her eyes were slipping shut and her blood was covering both of them.  
“I’m awake,” she mumbled almost incoherently.  
“Tell me about your dad, Clarke,” Bellamy said hoping that would get her to talk.  
“My dad?” She asked like she didn’t understand and her eyes shut.  
“Clarke?” Bellamy asked, but she didn’t respond. She was still breathing, but Bellamy knew he would have to get her help soon or it would be too late.  
“We’re here,” Lincoln said and Bellamy almost cried from relief. “I can’t go any further.” Bellamy nodded and continued on toward the glowing fires of the large camp.   
“Freeze! Don’t move!” He heard a yell.  
“No! Please I need help!” Bellamy yelled back. He stumbled forward because of his burning legs and the guards shot at him.  
“Please! We’re from the ark!” Bellamy yelled louder and dropped to his knees with Clarke.  
“Stop! That’s my daughter!” Came the voice Bellamy had hoped to hear. Now he really did let the tears stream down his face as two guards and Abby Griffin made their way quickly to Bellamy. Abby kneeled in front of the young couple and cupped Clarke’s cheek.  
“What happened?” Abby asked while helping Bellamy to his feet.  
“Grounders,” was all Bellamy could manage to say. Abby led him through the camp and to a tent Bellamy guessed was their med bay.  
“Put her on the cot,” Abby ordered and Bellamy obeyed. Bellamy gripped Clarke hand and tightly and watched as Abby pulled the arrow out of Clarke’s chest and bandaged her wound.   
“She’s lost too much blood,” Abby said after she was finished with the bandages.  
“No. There has to be something you can do. Take my blood. Drain me if you have to,” Bellamy demanded. He was angry. He hadn’t walked all the way with Clarke bleeding in his arms to find Abby and she couldn’t even save her.   
“Bellamy…. We don’t have enough resources to keep everyone alive,” Abby said.  
“She’s your daughter! I’m offering my own blood to keep her alive, what else does she need? I’ll get it. I’ll do anything,” Bellamy said desperately.  
“It’s more than just needing blood. The blood has to be compatible. On the Ark we could test the blood to see if it would work, but now we don’t have that kind of technology,” Abby explained.  
“She’ll die if I don’t try, please,” Bellamy pleaded.  
“You could die Bellamy and it could be for nothing,” Abby said giving in to him.  
“I have to try,” Bellamy said. Abby bit her lip, but finally gave in.  
“Wait, before we do this, I need to tell you. There’s a camp about an hour north of here. My sister’s there. Please save them,” Bellamy said. Abby nodded and started setting up tubes and put a needle into Bellamy’s arm.   
“I’m going to sedate you,” Abby warned him before stabbing a syringe into his skin. It stung, but he didn’t feel it long before he was out cold.


	11. Chapter 11

The first thing Clarke noticed when she started to gain consciousness was the lack of sound. She couldn’t hear any shouting, hammering, or any of the general noises of her camp. She was suddenly panicked until she remembered she wasn’t at camp. The last thing she remembered was Bellamy carrying her with Lincoln leading. Panic rose in her again as she forced her eyes open.  
“Bellamy?!” Clarke called out and sat up so quickly it made her head spin.  
“Clarke?” came a female voice that made her heart sink. She was hoping it would be Bellamy that would respond. She felt a pair of hands pushing her back down onto the cot, but she resisted. When the world stopped spinning the woman’s face cleared so she could see it was her own mother.  
“Where’s Bellamy?” Clarke asked. Her mother’s face sunk in what Clarke could only read as disappointment.  
“I made him go eat. He hasn’t left your side since he woke up,” Abby said.  
“Woke up?” Clarke asked confused, but the flap of the tent opened. Her head snapped to the flap at the movement and wasn’t disappointed to see Bellamy standing there.  
“Clarke! You’re awake,” a smile stretched across his face. He crossed the tent in two long strides and gripped her hand in his.  
“How are you feeling?” Abby asked. Clarke was about to answer when she realized the question had been directed at Bellamy.  
“Better now that I’ve eaten,” Bellamy said.  
“Good. You lost a lot of blood,” Abby said and turned away from the couple and started moving around her medical supplies to look busy.  
“You lost blood? How?” Clarke asked.  
“You had lost too much blood. You were going to die so I told your mom to take mine,” Bellamy said shrugging it off like it was nothing.  
“You could have died! It could have drained you of all your blood especially without proper equipment,” Clarke exclaimed.  
“I know, but there was a chance you would live and you did,” Bellamy said.  
“Don’t ever risk your life for me again,” Clarke said sternly.  
“I’d do anything for you,” Bellamy said leaning down to kiss Clarke’s forehead, but she pulled away.   
“No. Bellamy, don’t do anything like that again. It’s too risky,” Clarke said.  
“Clarke, people need you. You’re a natural leader. Those people back at camp, they listen to you. They don’t need me,” Bellamy said.  
“Your sister needs you…” Clarke said. “I need you.”   
“Don’t you understand, Clarke? I can’t live without you anymore. Yes, I love Octavia and I know she loves me, but she definitely doesn’t need me anymore. She’ll be fine without me and so will you. Without you, Clarke… I…” Bellamy couldn’t form words to finish his thoughts. He squeezed her hand willing her to understand him.  
“Clarke, you need rest. You should rest too, Bellamy. You’ve both had a rough couple of days,” Abby said turning back toward them.   
“It’s been a rough couple of weeks,” Bellamy said with a small smile.   
**  
The camp fell apart under Octavia’s leadership. It wasn’t that Octavia wasn’t a good leader, it was just that Bellamy and Clarke had been key people for the camp. The amount of death’s increased because Clarke wasn’t around to heal anyone and no one else had the ability like Clarke. People listened to Octavia most of the time when she told them something needed to be done, but she wouldn’t be able to control them for long. The people were restless and wanted justice for the people they had lost to the grounder attacks.  
**  
Lincoln checked on Octavia every night just after midnight, but on the third day of Bellamy and Clarke’s absence the entire camp’s population was being attacked. Lincoln recognized the strange men in the strange suits to be the Mountain Men. He had never seen them in person before, but when he was a little boy there had been stories of the Mountain Men taking whole villages into the mountain and turning them into Reapers. The grounders had learned to stay away from the tunnels that led to the mountain and to settle as from away from the mountain as possible.   
Lincoln watched as the Mountain Men violently collected the Sky People. He searched the camp for Octavia and cursed under his breath when he saw her being dragged away unconscious. There were too many of the Mountain Men for Lincoln to fight them on his own, he knew it wouldn’t help anyone for him to try at the moment. So he waited and followed. He followed the Mountain Men to the base of the mountain to be sure that was where they were taking the Sky People before running off to find Clarke and Bellamy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bellamy and Clarke are about to meet The Commander. Who would you rather be The Commander of the tribe of "nice" grounders, Lexa or Anya? Keep in mind that the other would probably be the leader of the "mean" grounders. Please let me know in the comments.


End file.
